Materials and Equipment for Nanoelectronics Forecast to Reach US$4.2 Billion

New Market Research Study Identifies and Quantifies Opportunities for Materials and Equipment Suppliers in Nanoelectronics

SAN JOSE, California—November 14, 2005—The markets for nano materials, tools and equipment for nanoelectronics totaled US$1,827 million in 2005 and are forecasted to reach $4,219 million by the year 2010, according to Global Nanoelectronics Markets and Opportunities, a comprehensive new market research report that is now available from SEMI. Revolutionary nano materials, tools and equipment accounted for 10 percent of the market or $189 million in 2005 and are expected to reach $866 million in 2010 led by growth in carbon nanotubes (CNT), nano imprint and extreme ultra-violet lithography.

Global Markets and Forecasts for Nano Materials, Tools
and Equipment for Nanoelectronics
*All figures in Millions of U.S. dollars

Markets

2004

2010

Compound Annual Growth Rate

Nano Materials

$161

$1,134

39%

Nano Tools and Equipment

$1,287

$3,085

16%

Total

$1,448

$4,219

20%

Nanoelectronic development activities in five electronics industry sectors, including semiconductors, displays, hard disk storage, optoelectronics/sensors and micro/nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) are reviewed in this report, along with timelines for commercialization. Over the next five years, display products such as CNT backlights and CNT field emission displays (FED), as well as a number of polymer and transmission films using nano materials will be commercialized. The use of nano materials in the display sector will also allow the use of new manufacturing techniques such as ink-jet and screen printing technologies. Additionally, NEMS based memory devices incorporating nano wires and novel forms of semiconductor memory using a variety of nano materials, are also expected to be commercialized.

“The electronics industry is leading the commercialization of nanotechnology. While the semiconductor and hard disk storage industries have used nano scale features and materials for several years, nanotechnology is expected to play an increasingly disruptive role across the broader electronics industry,” said Lubab Sheet, senior director of Nanotechnology at SEMI. “However, few of the companies surveyed that are developing these nanoelectronics devices were able to articulate specific nano materials and equipment technical requirements, which creates a problem given the lengthy development cycles required to develop production quality nano materials and tools. The report tries to fill this gap by summarizing the nano materials and tools needed in each industry sector for each type of nanoelectronic device, to help bring some clarity to the space and highlight the opportunity areas for SEMI members.”

The report includes definitions for nano materials, tools and equipment for nanoelectronics, highlights requirements by application area, provides market sizes and forecasts for the global nano materials, tools and equipment markets by segment and summarizes the opportunities for materials and equipment suppliers. Some of the key findings include:

Industries that are more focused on technology challenges including the semiconductor industry, are generally more conservative in adopting new technologies, while those focused more on cost challenges such as displays and hard disk storage are more willing to try new approaches.

Start-up companies face high barriers to entry in the nano materials, tools and equipment markets due to large R&D budgets, challenging market timing, stringent technical requirements and demanding customer service and applications support. Start-ups will establish footholds by licensing proven technologies or aligning with key suppliers to help facilitate faster adoption of nano materials, tools and equipment in the market place.

The largest opportunities for nano materials suppliers are actually outside of the nanoelectronic industry over the next five years. Industries such as construction materials, automotive and industrial chemicals and sporting goods require significant volumes of nano materials with significantly lower technical requirements than electronics applications.

Over the next 15 to 20 years, there will be an integration of nanoelectronics with biology and medicine, which will result in the development of a wide range of new markets. The first step is integration across nanoelectronic sectors, which has already begun.

Covering industry nanotechnology R&D activities, timelines for device and application commercialization as well as the technical and market implications for nano materials, tools and equipment markets, the 53-page report contains more than 45 tables, detailed facts and figures based on over 135 in-depth interviews conducted with both domestic and international organizations. Interviews were conducted with semiconductor, display, hard disk storage, optoelectronics/sensor and MEMS/NEMS manufacturers; electronics industry manufacturing consortia; materials suppliers and equipment suppliers.

The report was developed in cooperation with and support from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Additional support was provided by Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center (IEK)—a division of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Intercoverage, Lux Research and Wicht Technologie Consultancy.

The report is available for purchase from SEMI for US$4,000 for SEMI and SIA members/single user, and US$5,000 for non-members/single user. A company-wide site license is available for US$12,500 for SEMI and SIA corporate members companies and US$15,000 for non-members. For more information, or to order the report, call SEMI Global Sales and Services at 1.877.746.7788 (U.S. toll-free) or 1.408.943.6901.